Rapid evaluation of fatigue limit using energy dissipation

Four different experimental approaches for rapid estimation of fatigue limit (endurance limit) based on energy dissipation during cyclic loading are discussed. The presented approaches use energy dissipation and thermography and can reliably evaluate the fatigue limit of material by conducting the fatigue test on a single specimen. Results show that the released energy due to damage accumulation at the stress levels above the fatigue limit changes the trend of energy dissipation and that this trend can be used to predict the fatigue limit. Experimental results on CS 1018 and SS 304 specimens are presented to illustrate the utility of the proposed methods.